Even though his health was declining, the founder of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Creative Writing Program still sent detailed critiques to former students.
William Neal Harrison, 79, died late Tuesday evening of kidney failure at his home in Fayetteville. He was a week shy of turning 80, said his daughter, Laurie Karnatz of Fayetteville.
Harrison moved to Fayetteville in 1964 after accepting a faculty position in the English Department at UA. Harrison started the creative writing program with the late James Whitehead in the mid-1960s. Harrison became professor emeritus in the late 1990s.
He was a novelist and short story writer. Harrison’s works include The Theologian, In a Wild Sanctuary, Africana and Savannah Blue. The 1975 movie Rollerball was based on his short story, “Roller Ball Murder,” which he sold to Esquire magazine in 1973. Harrison also wrote the screenplay.
A second movie, the 1990s Mountains of the Moon, was based on his novel Burton and Speke.
Skip Hays of Fayetteville described his friend Harrison as generous, open, funny and a good storyteller. Hays was a student of Harrison’s in the late 1970s and then taught with Harrison at UA-Fayetteville, starting in 1998. Hays retired this year.
“He was quick,” Hays said. “He always saw the heart of the story. He knew what needed to be cut and what needed to be added. He would do this for any student.”
They became friends. Hays enjoyed going with Harrison to St. Louis to watch the Cardinals play and going to grab lunch at Hugo’s in Fayetteville.
Sean Harrison, Harrison’s son, said his dad was a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan.
Harrison’s creative-writing students have become teachers and have published novels, poetry and short stories and produced movies, Karnatz said.
Steve Yarbrough was searching for a creative writing program and had just finished reading Africana during his undergraduate years at the University of Mississippi. He knew Harrison was teaching at UA-Fayetteville, and that was the first place Yarbrough applied.
“If I hadn’t gone to that school and studied under him, very few of the nice things in my life would have happened,” said Yarbrough, who lives north of Boston, teaches at Emerson Collegeand has written six novels and three books of short stories.
Yarbrough still remembers a night Harrison called him when the former was a student in the Creative Writing Program. Harrison took Yarbrough to an expensive restaurant to discuss a story Yarbrough had written. Harrison waited until Yarbrough was fed and had “a lot” of wine before beginning his critique.
Yarbrough remembers Harrison saying, “I wish I liked your story. It’s a mess for the following reasons … ” Without having a copy of the story with him, Harrison detailed the problems with Yarbrough’s story. At one point, Harrison patted Yarbrough’s hand to ask if he was OK.
“If he decided you had the talent and the commitment, he would go to great lengths, just incredible lengths, that got through to you,” Yarbrough said.
Yarbrough has sent Harrison a copy of every book he has written, including his latest novel, The Realm of Last Chances, which published this year.
Yarbrough knew his former teacher was in ill health, but he decided to send Harrison a copy.
Harrison returned his critique by email a few weeks ago. Harrison said that the new book was one of his favorite novels Yarbrough had written. Harrison liked the rich set of characters and the imagery, and said the setting in Boston was on par with the best stories Yarbrough had written with a Southern setting.
He had one criticism.
“I’m less pleased with your structure,” Harrison wrote. “It demands the delivery of backgrounds on all the characters before the drama actually begins at the top of Kristin’s basement.”
From the time Yarbrough was a student, Harrison said what needed to be said but said it with love, Yarbrough recalled.
“He’s going to take responsibility for helping me be the best writer I can be until the day he dies, and that’s exactly what he did,” Yarbrough said. “I woke up this morning feeling kind of lost. For the first time ever when my book comes out, I won’t hear from Bill.”
Karnatz described her father as handsome, smart, witty and quick - even in his last days, she said. He loved traveling, especially to Africa. He was a native Texan who was married to his high school sweetheart, Merlee Harrison, for nearly 56 years.
His family and friends threw him a party Sunday for his 80th birthday.
In addition to his wife, daughter, and son Sean, Harrison is survived by son Quentin Harrison, three grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Services are not yet scheduled.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 8 on 10/24/2013